The present invention is related to the field of integrated circuit. More specifically, various aspects of the present invention are related to distribution and upgrade of integrated circuits.
Advances in integrated circuit (IC) technology have led to significant increases in the operational frequencies of IC. Typically, a manufacturer of an IC designs and guarantees the IC to operate properly up to a specification maximum operational frequency, if voltage supplied to the IC is within a targeted voltage range. Generally, to reduce power consumption, it is desirable to operate the IC near the lower end of the targeted voltage range.
In addition to being dependent on the applied voltage, the operational frequency of an IC may also be dependent at least in part on the temperature of the IC, the age of the IC, and/or other factors. Thus, various environmental limits, such as, but not limited to, temperature, voltage and so forth, are specified to facilitate a system designer to manage the usage of the IC, to ensure it functions properly. These environmental limits are typically conservatively specified (guardbanded) to accommodate among other things, aging of the IC. The level of conservatism (or magnitude of the guardband) varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, depending in part on the quality experience of the manufacturer.
Additionally, there are often different price-performance points a type of IC (e.g. microprocessor) needs to meet, further complicating the manufacturing and distribution of IC.